Dillon narrowed his eyes at his Beta as he watched the huge man feed himself lies written on his heart from a tragic past. He was definitely damaged, but who better to be the mate of a broken male than a healer? And who better to be the mate of a female who will have to relearn how to trust being touched and not cringe, than a male who has been there already? Dalton wasn’t ready to see it yet. For whatever reason he believed he didn’t deserve her and was trying really hard to convince himself he didn’t want her. Lucky for him he has an Alpha who doesn’t put up with self-pity. He has left Dalton alone for many years, allowing him to deal with his trauma in his own way, but that was about to end.
“Okay,” Dillon said coolly. “If that’s what you think, then I won’t force you to take care of her any longer. You will stay here with me because they are going to need us to hunt down Volcan, but you can stay away from Jewel.” Dillon noted Dalton’s jaw tightening. It was time to go for the clincher. “Vasile called to let Peri know that some of the Alphas of the other packs are going to send their Betas to help with the search,”
Dalton snorted. “How kind of them to send their unmated dominates to a house that just happens to be full of unmated healers.”
Dillon wanted to laugh. That was the most words he had ever heard out of Dalton’s mouth at one time. He continued as if the Beta hadn’t interrupted. “If Jewel hasn’t woken up by then, it might be a good idea to see if the blood of any of the new males perhaps can do what yours did not.”
Dalton went still, his hulking form like a chiseled statue, but for his eyes. They shot up to his, and though hooded by lids Dillon could see the barely contained rage. “What is it you are looking for their blood to do?”
“Bring her back,” Dillon crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head just a tad. “You didn’t ask Sally why Jewel was still unconscious, did you?”
Dalton didn’t respond.
“Well, maybe if you didn’t even care enough about her to want to know what was wrong, then she isn’t really yours.”
Dalton watched his Alpha walk away, purposefully leaving those ringing words in the air. She isn’t really yours. As he got his breathing under control and slipped back into his talk to me and die demeanor, he hoped for the little healer’s sake that his Alpha was right.
From author:
Thank you so much for taking your time to read Into the Fae. It is my sincerest hope that you enjoyed it and will continue on this journey with the new healers. You can stay up to date one when books are due out, cover reveals, excerpts and book trailers by going to my site at www.quinnloftisbooks.com. Thank you again!
Please enjoy the following excerpts from myself as well as other amazing authors.
Prince of Wolves, Book 1 The Grey Wolves Series
Quinn Loftis
Chapter 1
Jacque Pierce sat in the window seat in her bedroom looking across the street at her neighbors house; she wasn’t really being nosy she thought to herself, just curious. “Yeah,” she snorted, “only if you call curious sitting in your window seat eyes glued to your neighbor’s house like a hound on the hunt at ten o’clock at night. I can call a spade, a spade tomorrow morning,” she told her conscience.
The Henry’s were having a foreign exchange student stay with them this year. They didn’t have any children of their own, though Jacque didn’t know if that was by choice or because they weren’t able to have children. She had promised Sally and Jen she would get the nitty-gritty on the situation and call them.
So here she sat in her window, scoping out the neighbors house with her lights turned off and blinds cracked just enough to see and to top off her “James Bond” experience, she even had binoculars! Now if she only had the nifty back ground music to go with her shenanigans. She had been sitting there for an hour already and was just about to give up when a black stretch limo pulled to the curb. Now isn’t this strange, she thought, a foreign exchange student arriving in a limo? She put the binoculars to her face and adjusted them to get a better look, settling them over the passenger door to see just who would emerge. She knew this was a little much but honestly in a town of 700 there just isn’t a whole lot of excitement and Jacque would take it where she could get it.
The driver got out of the limo to go around and open the back passenger door, but before he could get there the door was already opening, and the boy who stepped out of that limo had to be the most beautiful guy Jacque had ever seen, and that was only his profile. Wow, I mean wow, is all Jacque could think. Jacque couldn’t even imagine what his entire face must look like. He was tall, probably six foot one or so, his hair was jet black, it was longer on top and she could tell that he had bangs that fell across his face sweeping to the left partially covering that eye. He had broad shoulders and from what she could see of his profile, high cheek bones, a straight nose and full lips. She quickly realized her mouth had dropped open and she was all but drooling over the handsome human being who had emerged from the vehicle. She watched as he and his driver conversed, it all seemed very formal until the driver suddenly hugged the boy with obvious deep affection. He must be more than just his driver Jacque thought.
Suddenly, he turned as if he had heard what she was thinking and looked straight at her window, straight at her. Jacque froze, unable to look away from the mesmerizing blue eyes that held her in place. All her thoughts seemed to fade into the distance and she heard, or thought, she wasn’t quite sure which, the words, “At last, my Jacquelyn.” Jacque shook her head, trying to clear the haze that had filled it. After she came to her senses from the intense stare she recapped in her mind what his face had looked like.
She was right about the cheek bones; nose and lips, what she wasn’t prepared for was that his crystal blue eyes seemed to almost glow in the moon light. The hair that fell across his forehead and over his left eye only added to his mysteriousness. Over all he had a very masculine, very beautiful face. The shirt he was wearing was black and thanks to her handy dandy binoculars she was able to see that it fit closely to his form and showed off a muscular chest and flat stomach. He had a black leather biker jacket on, but past that she couldn’t see because the car was in the way, but she imagined his legs were every bit as nice as the rest of him.
When she looked back at the street the mysterious guy was walking into the Henry’s house. As she saw the door close she heard the voice again say “Soon.”
Jacque sat there for a few minutes more trying to get her brain to work again, everything seemed so hazy. After blinking what felt like a thousand times she pulled herself together, picked up the phone and dialed Jen’s number.
Three rings later Jen answered, “What’s the word?” she asked.
Jacque took a slow breath and said “I think you better come over.”
“I’m there chick, see ya in 5,” Jen responded and then hung up.
Jacque grinned to herself as she thought about how great it was to have a friend like Jen who you could always depend on to be there when you needed her.
Jacque picked up the phone again and called Sally. She answered after one ring. She had obviously been diligently manning the phone, waiting for Jacque to call with details to the latest small town drama. “Jen is on her way over,” Jacque said. “I need you to come too, we need to talk.”
“Okay,” Sally said simply and hung up.
Fifteen minutes later the three friends were gathered on Jacque’s bedroom floor, hot chocolate in hand, because naturally, how can you have a girl powwow without hot chocolate?
“So, fill it and spill it,” Jen said.
“Okay,” Jacque said taking a deep breath, “so I’m sitting in my window seat, shades cracked lights off, binoculars in hand,”
“Binoculars, really, you honestly were using binoculars?” Sally interrupted.
“Well you said you wanted details, so I was getting you details,” Jacque defended.
“Oooh, did you have the “Mission Impossible” sound track playing in the back ground cuz that wo
uld have been spy-tastic,” Jen said enthusiastically.
“Actually,” Jacque said distracted, “I was thinking more James Bond-ish, you know with the whole stake out thing,”
“No, huh-uh, that would be more like Dog the Bounty Hunter type stuff. But you couldn’t be Beth ‘cause you’re not stacked enough on top, so you would have to be baby Lisa the daughter….” Jen rattled on.
“You are so, so not comparing me to Dog the Bounty Hunter’s daughter right now and why are we talking about this anyway because it is sooooo NOT the point!” Jacque growled in frustration.
“Spy analogies aside, I was sitting there about an hour when finally a black stretch limo pulls up to the curb in front of the Henry’s house.”
“A limo? What foreign exchange student shows up in a limo?” Jen asked.
“I know right, that’s what I was thinking,” Jacque stated. “I assure you the limo is of no consequence once the person inside stepped out. Ladies, I saw the most gorgeous guy to ever grace my line of site.”
“When you say gorgeous,” Jen started, “are we talking Brad Pitt boyish good looks, or Johnny Depp make ya want to slap somebody?”
“No, we’re talking Brad and Johnny need to bow down and recognize,” Jacque answered.
“Aside from him being dropped off in a limo, and besides the fact that he is a walking Calvin Cline ad, it begins to get strange at this point in our story boys and girls,” Jacque says in a spooky narrative voice.
“Like it wasn’t strange already?” Sally asked.
“Well, okay strang-er. Just as he is about to walk up the path, he suddenly turns and looks straight at me, like he could sense I was watching him! Like, right in my eyes. I literally couldn’t move; it was like I was mesmerized by him or something. Man when did I start using the word “like” so freaking much?” Jacque said in exasperation. “Up until now it was strange, but now we are entering the world of “what the hell.” As he is staring at me I hear a voice in my head and it said “At last, my Jacquelyn,” then as he turned to go in the house and I hear the voice again say, “Soon.”
Jacque stares expectantly at her two best friends waiting for them to tell her she’s finally jumped off the deep end, but they just sit there staring at her. “Well?” Jacque asked. Finally Jen stirs taking a deep breath in, she looks down at her empty hot chocolate mug, “We’re gonna need more hot chocolate.”
“Agreed,” Sally and Jacque say at the same time.
Jen returned with three fresh mugs of hot chocolate and Oreo cookies. Folding herself Indian style on the floor, she cocked her head to the side eyebrows scrunched together, “So let me see if I’m catching what you’re throwing. Hottie exchange student drives up in a limo, steps out, rocks your world, looks into your eyes and speaks to you in your head? Am I getting the gist of it here?”
Jacque nodded her head sheepishly looking at the floor, “I mean, I guess it was his voice in my head. It could be a long lost dead relative who’s been searching for me since they died and happen to find me the moment that hottie looked into my eyes.”
Jen and Sally both gave Jacque the, get a larger spoon if you're going to shovel it in that big, look.
“What?” Jacque asked. “I’m just saying,” she said throwing her hands up in the air in frustration.
Flopping back onto the floor Jacque groaned loudly and covered her eyes with the back of her hand, “Am I going crazy ya’ll?” she asked.
“No sweetie, you been gone a long time now, we just didn’t want you to know that we knew.” Sally teased.
“Seriously, I know it sounds crazy, but I promise you guys I heard a voice, a beautiful, deep, masculine voice, in my head, and it knew my name! That is crazy, jacked up, put-her-in-a straight jacket, totally insane!” Jacque looked at them both with fear in her eyes; she truly did wonder if she had finally cracked.
There was after all, people in her family of questionable sanity, her mother being one of them. Jacque loved her mom and they had a good relationship, but she wasn’t always in touch with reality. Jacque’s father wasn’t in the picture and never had been, he had bailed as soon as he found out her mom was pregnant. Thankfully she had two best friends who kept her feet firmly on the ground, which is why she was so fervently seeking their thoughts on this matter.
Sally finally spoke up, “I don’t think you are crazy, Jac, really you’re not. There has to be some sort of explanation. We’ll figure it out, we always do.”
“Yea,” Jen added, “its 2 weeks until school starts. From now until then we are on scout detail.” Sally nodded her agreement.
The three were quiet for a few minutes, each pondering ways to run into the new exchange student without seeming too obvious. Jen was lying on the floor looking up at the ceiling fan, her eyes following the blades as her mind turned its own circles, “We need to find a way to introduce ourselves to him so that we can each get a good look and see if Sally or I hear a voice in our head.”
“My mom was planning on taking over a good’ole Southern meal for him since he isn’t from here. We could ask if we could go over with her, or would that be too lame?” Jacque asked.
“No, I think that’s perfect,” Jen stated.
Finally, by midnight they had thought up a somewhat weak game plan, the whole of it revolving around going with Jacque’s mom to the Henrys to give their new exchange student some fried chicken, ‘taters, and corn on the cob. Seriously, how lame could you get, Jacque thought as she lay in her bedroom floor. Jen and Sally had quickly fallen asleep on the other side of her room each with their own blanket wrapped around them.
Jacque sat up and looked around her room, and thought, this was a place I feel safe and comfortable. The twin size bed with the new deep green bed spread her mom had bought her for her birthday, the stained-glass lamp with absolutely no theme whatsoever that sat on her small wood desk. She, Sally and Jen had carved various things on its surface. She looked at her dresser mirror which had pictures lining both sides, mostly of Jen, Sally and her in various places and poses; just a few hours ago I was just another 17 year-old getting ready to start my senior year, so normal she thought.
She had three homecoming mums hanging on the wall next to her bed, and on the other side of her bed was the window with a seat where she sat tonight, where her life had changed in a way she wasn’t sure of yet. Jacque lay back down on her back watching her ceiling fan go around in a circle, the motor lulling her to sleep. Her last thought as she drifted off was of a full moon, whatever that meant.
More Titles by Quinn Loftis
Grey Wolves Series
Blood Rites, Book 2
Just One Drop, Book 3
Out of the Dark, Book 4
Beyond the Veil, Book 5
Fate and Fury, Book 6
Sacrifice of Love, Book 7
Luna of Mine, Book 8 Coming July 2, 2014
Elfin Series
Elfin, Book 1
Rapture, Book 2
Book 3 Title coming soon.
Contemporary YA Romance
Call Me Crazy
Please enjoy this excerpt from
The Gate Keepers Sons by Eva Pohler
Chapter One: The Drowning
Therese Mills peeled the white gloves off her sweaty hands as soon as she and her parents were in the car. Now that her mother’s thing was over, she could finally get home and out of this blue dress. It was like being in a straightjacket.
Anything for Mom, of course.
What the…
A man glared at her through her backseat window. She jumped up, sat back, blinked. The man vanished, but when she blinked again, she could still see the eerie face behind her lids: the scruffy black beard and dark, haunting eyes.
“Thanks again for making tonight so special,” her mother, apparently not seeing the man, said from the passenger seat as her father started the engine. “You two being there meant a lot to me.”
“Did you see that man?” Therese peered through her window for the face.
“What?” Her mother also looked. “What man?”
“What man, Therese?” her father asked.
“Never mind.”
Therese did not find it unusual that her mother hadn’t noticed the man. Although her mother was a brilliant scientist, she wasn’t the most observant person.
Just last spring after all the snow had finally melted around their house in the Colorado mountains, and Therese and her mother had been able to enjoy their wooden deck with the melted lake spread out in front of them and the forest rising up the mountains behind them, Therese had spotted the wild horse and foal she had seen just before winter. They both had reddish brown coats with a white stripe between their eyes, the foal nestled beside its mother’s legs, staring intently at Therese without moving. The animals stood beneath one of two magnificent elm trees ten feet from their back door—the tree her mother said had gotten the Dutch elm disease. Therese relaxed with her mother at the wooden table on the deck, each of them with a mug of coffee in the bright Sunday morning. Her mother had the paper but wasn’t reading it. She had that look on her face when she was thinking of a scientific formula or method that she planned to try in her lab. Therese stared again at the horse and didn’t move. She whispered, “Mom.”
Her mother hadn’t heard.
“Mom, the wild horses,” she whispered again.
Therese looked from the beautiful creatures to her mother, who sat staring in space, transfixed, like a person hypnotized.
“Mom, are you deaf?” she blurted out, and then she heard the horses flee back up the mountain into the tall pines. She caught a glimpse of the foal’s reddish-brown rump, and that was that.
As Therese strapped on her seatbelt, she also considered the possibility that she had only imagined the man in the window. She was, after all, prone to use her imagination and fully capable of making daydreams as real as reality, as she had, just now, with her memory of the horses.